Sweet ReciPEAs

Evil Treats from a Nice Person

Treats and bonus recipes right to your inbox every Wednesday.

It came and went….

…and I didn’t even notice it, my 2 year blog anniversary that is. So very hard for me to believe that it has been 2 years. It really only seems like a year to me because I didn’t really start getting into my blog until last Summer. I hope I’ve accomplished what I set out to achieve…provide yummy recipes that people would not be intimidated to make. Oh sure there are far better sites than mine that make fantastic looking desserts(that are so impractical for the everyday person to make) so I made it my goal that everyone reading my blog could easily make about 85% of the food I put on here. Oh sure occasionally I slip back to my pastry roots and go a little overboard but for the most part I “try” to keep on the doable side.
So with that I chose a very simple yet tasty coffee cake to celebrate my 2 year blog anniversary. A recipe courtesy of everybody’s beloved Dorie Greenspan. I made this to take to “coffee chat,” a monthly event they have for the seniors at my athletic club. Having been going to the arthritis classes I was allowed/encourage to come to the coffee chat. So naturally I went, I would hate to miss out on any of the current gossip. 😛 The recipe in the book calls for blueberries(which I am allergic to raw blueberries) but I went with raspberries. Any berries will work but not strawberries because of their high water content. It was moist and sweet but not dessert sweet, which is perfect for going with coffee and gossip.
Anyway, thanks to all of you who read my blog…long time readers and newbies a like. Here’s to another 2 years of butter and sugar ladened fat filled food 

 

Raspberry Crumb Cake

For the Crumbs:
 5 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
½ cup chopped walnuts

For the Cake:

2 cups raspberries, fresh
2 cups plus 2 tsp all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2/3 cup sugar
grated zest of ½ lemon
¾ stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter an 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.
For the Crumb: Put all the ingredients except the nuts in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture forms clumps and curd and holds together when pressed. Scrape the topping into a bowl, stir r the nits and press a piece of plastic against the surface. Refrigerate until needed.

To make the cake: Using your fingertips, toss the raspberries and 2 tsp of flour together in a small bowl just to coat the berries; set aside. Whisk together the remaining 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Working in the bowl of a stand mixer, rub together the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the butter and, with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the butter at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add th eggs one by one, beat for about 1 minutes after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract. Don’t be concerned if the batter looks curdled-it will soon smooth out. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, the flour in 3 parts and the buttermilk in 2(begin with the dry ingredients). You will have a thick, cream batter. With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the berries.
Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top gently with the spatula. Pull the crumb mix from the refrigerator and, with your fingertips, break it into pieces. There’s no need to try to get even pieces-these are crumbs, they’re supposed to be lumpy and bumpy and every shape and size. Scatter the crumbs over the batter,. Pressing them down ever so slightly.
Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool just until it is warm or until it reaches room temperature.

Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan, Houghton Mifflin 2006

Stay updated!

My culinary concoctions and bonus recipes every Wednesday to your inbox.
Come to the Dark Side. We have cookies.

Comments

  3. Congratulations on your second anniversary! The cup is lovely for the occasion.

    Blueberries are my favorite fruits. By looking at the spices and the walnuts, I am inclined to think that raspberries work better. Did you change anything else than the raspberries from the original recipe?

    Reply

  4. Happy Anniversary! I don’t comment often (never?) but your blog is one of my FAVORITES!! I’m so glad you share your baking (and hockey-watching) with us!

    Reply

  6. COngrtAtulAtionS!!!!!

    Woohoo! Two years? You rock! And the raspberry coffee cake looks divine, so moist… where is my baking pan?

    The second photo above, belongs in a calendar.

    Cheers my friend!

    Reply

  8. Happy anniversary!

    Consider your mission accomplished. I’ve tried several of your recipes over the last year with great success. It’s gotten to the point where my friends, family and co-workers ask “is this a Peabody?” as they dig in 🙂

    I’ve also learned a lot about pastry and photography from my time here.

    Here’s to a long, prosperous, and calorie-rich future together!

    Reply

  10. Contratulations Peabody! I would say mission accompolished except tomorrow is always a new day and I would wish to always have a Peabody to look forward too. Keep it coming!
    I love these Dorie cakes that are over sweet, yes perfect for coffee and gossipe.

    Reply

  12. Congratulations on your 2 year anniversary! Your blog NEVER disappoints me and I thoroughly enjoy your recipes and writing. Thank you so much!

    Reply

  14. Happy Anniversary…I think you’ve accomplished great things with your blog. Also, I love it that 15% of the time when you go “overboard”, I mean face it..there are so many recipes out there, I could never make them all, so sometimes its nice just to see the pictures of something really fancy and complicated that I would never muster the courage to make anyway!

    Reply

  16. Amen, Gracie! I look forward to many, many more butter and sugar ladened fat filled years drooling over your recipes. hee!

    Happy Blogiversary!

    xoxo

    Reply

  17. Happy anniversary! Glad we found you wonderful blog and amazing recipes.

    This cake looks incredible. I am going to have to try it!

    -Michelle

    Reply

  18. Happy Blog Anniversary. I love your site, your writing, your recipes and your pictures. Keep up the good work! And where can I get that darling cup?

    Reply

  24. Happy anniversary!! I LOVE raspberries and will definitely be trying this coffee cake. Stop by my blog and find out how you can help fight childhood hunger.

    Reply

  26. Happy Anniversary Peabody! Your goal has been met, but even with 85%, there is not enough time to bake and make all the yummies you post.
    Great coffe cake recipe and very nice cup. Hope the ankle has improved along with good gossip.

    Reply

  27. Congratulations on your anniversary! In my opinion, you are definitely achieving what you set out to do – I find so much inspiration (not intimidation) from your posts, even the fancy ones!

    Reply

  28. A well deserved CONGRATS on your 2nd Blogiversary! Your blog is lovely, very encouraging and lovely to get lost in during my ME time!! Your photography keeps inspiring me to achieve better results and your recipes are fab. Well done. BTW that pink cup is just divine with that cake!! 🙂

    Reply

  29. congratulations on hitting the two year mark!

    because of this post, i decided to go back in your archives and check out your earlier entries. it’s really amazing to read them all chronologically and watch your blog evolve. this is one of my favorites to read =) and it really inspires me to make my brand new blog even better. thank you, peabody!

    Reply

  33. I love reading your blog! The muffins looks so yummy!..I was wondering where you got your mug? My aunt collects hearts and she would love it!

    Reply

  34. Oh, this looks addicting. I love aspberrys so I know I’ll love this. I’m going to try this soon :]

    And those cups are so cute!!

    And happy anniversary!

    Reply

  36. Happy second Annivarsary! Lovely cake and I like your cup too 🙂

    I only found you a few months ago, but I hope to see a lot more of your gorgeous food in the future.

    KJxx

    Reply

  37. Happy blog birthday! I adore your blog and your baking is so accessible and lovely. What a darling mug – and that cake looks delicious!

    Reply

  38. Congrats sweetie on your 2 year anniversary – what a joy it is to visit your site. This recipe comes at such a perfect time, we have a nice established raspberry garden at our new home and this give me something to make other than smoothies! I can’t wait to try this one out. VT

    Reply

  39. Happy 2nd Blog Birthday Peabody! I must say how much I enjoy drooling over…I mean reading… your blog. You have the amazing gift of presenting your cakes and photographing them so very well. If looking at your photos could add pounds I’d probably gain at least 5lbs every time I visited! LOL! :p

    Reply

  40. Happy BlogAnniversary! When I made that coffee cake, I used cherries and coconut milk, coconut in the topping and b. asks for it every sunday now…Just love it. I can only imagine how good it must be with raspberries!

    Reply

  44. Happy “Blogaversary”~you have one of the best sites going….How very much I look forward to reading your posts and drooling everyday…………keep up the great recipes for all of us to read and taste~

    Reply

  46. Happy 2nd year Anniversary Peabody. I’d say most of your recipes are doable and those that aren’t as doable are still enjoyable to look at.

    Reply

  48. I have been browsing the net for a coffee cake recipe and yours is the best looking one 🙂
    It really is !!!
    My wedding anniversary is coming this weekend, and I plan on making this cake. Hope mine turns out well.
    I have a question on the baking time, it seems a little long. Do we need to bake for 55 – 65 minutes ? (I’m new to baking, so please bear with me).

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *